Extending Moral Concern

Can narratives broaden moral concern for nature and vulnerable populations? This stream extends my research to climate, conservation, and diversity, supported by the National Geographic Society, the Erb Institute, and the Graham Sustainability Institute.

Biodiversity and cultural diversity are morally valued (British Journal of Social Psychology, 2025)

Do people value diversity itself as a moral good? Across two studies (N = 796), we found that individuals assigned moral value to both biodiversity and cultural diversity. Individuals assigned greater moral value to animals, plants and – to a lesser extent – languages when diversity was threatened, compared to when it was not threatened, despite an equal number of entities at risk, and they were willing to sacrifice a large number of these entities to prevent a loss in diversity. Additionally, we found (N = 12,000) that a general concern for diversity underlies concern for both biodiversity and cultural diversity. These findings suggest that emphasizing the inherent value of diversity may be effective for increasing public support for conservation of diversity.

Effects of communicating the rise of climate migration on public perceptions of climate change and migration (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2024)

We examined how climate migration awareness affects attitudes. We found contradictory effects: climate migration messages increase concern about climate change while simultaneously heightening anti-immigrant sentiment in some populations. Strikingly, personal narratives of migrants did not overcome ideological filters; political identity overwhelmed message effects. Moral narratives, it appears, can both expand and constrain concern depending on audiences’ preexisting commitments.

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries (Science Advances, 2024)

Which strategies most effectively motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors? We tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions across 59,440 participants from 63 countries. The interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to non-climate skeptics, and varied across outcomes: decreasing psychological distance strengthened beliefs, writing a letter to a future-generation member boosted policy support, and negative emotion induction increased information sharing. No intervention increased more effortful behavior. The effects of each intervention also differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs, underscoring that behavioral climate interventions must be tailored to audiences and target behaviors.

An examination of how six reasons for valuing nature are endorsed and associated with pro-environmental behavior across 12 countries (Scientific Reports, 2023)

What reasons for valuing nature best predict pro-environmental behavior? Surveying balanced samples from 12 countries (N = 12,000), we found that people were least likely to endorse moral-based reasons for valuing nature compared to five other reasons (wellbeing, intrinsic value, health, economic value, identity). Yet moral- and identity-based reasons were the strongest predictors of pro-environmental behavior across multiple methods. The reasons most associated with action garnered the weakest support, presenting a dilemma for those hoping to leverage values to promote conservation.

Climate change-induced immigration to the US has mixed influences on public support for climate change and migrants (Climactic Change, 2023)

How does awareness of climate-induced immigration shape public opinion? A correlational study demonstrated that belief in climate-immigration was associated with greater climate change concerns and policy support, but also with attributing more blame to immigrants, especially among Republicans. An experimental study confirmed that reading about climate-induced immigration did not change climate concerns or policy support and instead resulted in more negative attitudes toward immigrants. The findings highlight unintended consequences of linking climate and immigration in public messaging.

The moral significance of aesthetics in nature imagery (Psychological Science, 2022)

How does nature imagery influence moral concern? Analyzing National Geographic’s Instagram data and conducting experiments, we found that image aesthetics predict both engagement and moral concern for nature through self-transcendent emotions: awe, inspiration, and perceptions of purity. Beautiful images do not merely capture attention; they elevate perception beyond self-interest and activate moral intuitions about the worthiness of what is depicted. Aesthetics, it turns out, carry moral significance, serving as a psychological gateway to regarding nature as deserving protection.